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OXEV'S WA$NiriG 




CITIZEN J. S. COXEY. 



A BOOK FOH THE PEOPUE 



BY 



CHESTERFIELD W. MYEBS. 



Coxey's Warning 



A Vindication of Coxeyism 



! ■ 



■sr>4 X 



/ 



BY 



Chesterfield W. Myers, 



( The Poet of the Commonweal.) 



; 









Copyright, 1894. 

by 

Chesterfield W. Myers. 



To 

Citizen J. S. Coxey, 

in recognition of his patriotic endeavors to aid his 

starving countrymen, 

This little volume is respectfully dedicated. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Dedicatoey 9 

Peoem 11 

The Scaeoity of Wealth 15 

Staevation 20 

The Disteibution of Wealth 27 

Coxey's Addeess 31 

An Inalienable Eight 32 

Put Youe Shouldee to the Wheel 34 

Suffeage 37 

Wall Steeet 43 

Capital and Laboe 45 

Song of Kelly's Men 47 

The Old Faemee's Complaint 50 

Jonathan Eindee Longs to be a Millionaiee . . 53 

The Wheelmen's Choeus 66 

The Stoey of the Buzz-Saw 69 



6 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

GoVEENMENTAL RaILEOADS 71 

Sandees' Invasion of Kansas 74 

The Nabob's Adyice to His Sons '. 77 

Fab feom the Madding Oeowd 79 

The Wheel op Foetune 83 

Coxeyism 86 

Peesident Cleveland 87 

A Woed foe Socialism 89 

Luck and Chance 92 

The Aged Wandebeb 94 

Will it be thus in Heaven, Mama ? 96 

The Cey oe Capital 98 

The Pooe Man's Soliloquy 106 

The Westwaed Deift of Civilization Ill 

The Weeck of the Commonweal Navy 121 

The Teains aee Safe 125 

The Goveenoe's Telegeam 127 

Peophetio 134 

Finale 139 



Coxey'S Warning. 



DEDICATORY. 

When Sparta stood 
Within the narrow pass, and held at bay 
The Persians thousands — lo ! the din of war, 
And roar of battle, and the clash of arms, 
Did thrice-fold roll the heathen back amain 
Upon their camp. For Sparta fought for Greece 
And Grecian freedom, and the fight she made 
Was glorious. As the coming years roll on, 
And dim the deeds of battles in the past, 
When Persia's king and all his mighty host 
Have passed away — Leonidas will live 
In hearts of men, as long as human kind 
Shall dwell in admiration of the truth 
And right and reason. 'Twas victory in defeat. 



10 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Behold the valiant man of right ! 
He stands upon a platform wide enough 
To hold a world. A thousand hounds of spite 
And prejudice and envy yelp around 
His heels. Lo ! he sees the gates of justice 
Closed against him, and poisoned shafts of hate 
And malice leveled at his breast. He hears 
The flippant jests, and bears in silence meek 
The pilfered triumphs of his enemies. 
What cares he for all these curs of evil! 
For well he knows, tho' wrong may steal success 
Its force is spent, and cannot long prevail 
Against the mighty strength of right. The gain 
Will be posterity's. 'Tis victory in defeat. 



PROEM. 11 



PKOEM. 



This little book has one main thought running 

all the way thro' its pages; 
You who will read it with care cannot fail in 

your search to detect it; 
There is depression abroad in the land of our 

fathers' devotion; 
Whence it has come is a question we all may dis- 
cuss at our leisure. 
True, you may differ from us in the cause we 

assign to its coming, 
And you may hold to the right of defending 

your choice of opinion, 
Still, if you trace out your cause you may find it 

a branch of the subject: 
All can be ranged with the title of Favored 

Class Legislation. 



12 COXEY'S WARNING. 



That is what made the man wealthy who first 

had a moderate income; ■ 
Granted him rights which he nsed in a way 

that wonld injure his neighbor; 
Strong was the lobby that moved in the hire of 

class legislation; 
Gold in their purse they had plenty which 

worked the corruption of voters. 
Congress distributed all that our country was 

ever possessed of; 
Gave it to men who united to form what we call 

corporations; 
Railroads and banks are examples, and how they 

do rob the poor people; 
Grasping their homes and savings and turning 

them out of doors beggars. 

Trusts have been formed by the union of two or 
more great corporations; 



PROEM. 13 

Raising the price of the products consumed by 
the toiler and workman; 

Drawing the wealth of the country while stint- 
ing the workmen in wages; 

Thus with one throw of a stone they have knock- 
ed down two birds from the branches. 

Congress has granted and granted till now there 
is no more to grant from, 

And like a donkey it finds it has come to the end 
of its tether; 

Seeking to get back the gift only stirs up the 
animals greatly, 

Causing their teeth to gleam white and threat- 
ening the life of the donkey. 

Taxing the mass of the people and shielding a 

few infant factories, 
Now has the infant grown larger and joins with 

its brother monopolies, 



14 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Angered because of the prospect of having its 

dainties diminished, 
Fain would it show us the point of the dagger 

held high o'er Columbia. 
Closes the doors of its factories and thus it 

repays all our kindness, 
Hoarding its money in banks and allied to the 

nabobs of Wall street, 
Making our medium scarce and causing a 

general depression, 
Hoping to tide o'er the Tariff and starving us 

into submission. 



THE SCARCITY OF WEALTH. 15 



THE SCARCITY OF WEALTH. 

Is our earth, then, become so valueless that 
it cannot afford a crust of bread to a dying 
beggar? 

I. 

Studded with diamonds are the mines of Af ric, 
The rivers of India are gleaming with pearls, 
In the heart of the Rockies the gold-seekers 
traffic, 
And delve for the ore where the deep water 
whirls; 
The rocks of Australia hold fortunes uncounted, 
In the mines of Brazil there are treasures 
untold, 
In Europe the monarchs and rulers have 
mounted 



16 COXEY'S WARNING. 

The most priceless stones in a framework of 
gold. 
But why should I ponder on all these vast riches, 

If I am but workfolk how much may I crave? 
A hut and a shovel — a place in the ditches— 

A crust of dry bread and a space for a grave. 

II. 

Teeming with wealth are the woodlands of 
Russia, 
And rich is Columbia in forests of pine; 
Great is the gain to the treasury of Prussia, 
When they press out the grape on the banks 
of the Rhine. 
The uplands of Austria are swelling with treas- 
ure, 
There are strata of coal and of iron and lead, 
And minerals costly from Spain unto Persia, 
All deftly arranged in an underground bed. 



THE SCARCITY OF WEALTH. 17 

But why should I ponder on all these vast riches, 
If I am but poor-folk how much may I crave? 

A hut and a shovel — a place in the ditches — 
A crust of dry bread and a space for a grave. 

III. 

The great rolling prairies enclosing Nebraska, 

The snow-white plantations of cotton down 

South, 

The fur-bearing regions of icy Alaska, 

And the sugar-cane raised at the Great River's 

mouth — 

The mines in the mountains, the ships on the 

ocean, 

The grain fields productive of rich golden 

grain, 

The factory's hum, the machine's steady motion : 

All surely and steadily grinding out gain. 

But why should I ponder on all these vast riches, 
a 



18 COXEY'S WARNING. 

If I am but work-folk how much may I crave? 
A hut and a shovel — a place in the ditches — 
A crust of dry bread and a space for a grave. 

IV. 

There are riches en masse and treasure redund- 
ant, 
The earth swells with lucre from centre to 
side; 
There are jewels and gems and trinkets abund- 
ant, 
For each a fair portion and plenty beside. 
Silver in veinlets that shimmer like sunbeams; 

O, give to each one of its generous worth ! 
God grant that our wishes may not all prove 
day dreams; 
O, grant that our country may have a new 
birth! 



THE SCARCITY OF WEALTH. 19 

But why should a poor man reflect on these 
riches, 
The millionaire tells him how much he may 
crave: 
A hut and a shovel — a place in the ditches — 
A crust of dry bread and a space for a grave. 



20 COXEY'S WARNING. 



STARVATION. 

O, you who would sing of the Horrors of Rum 

give ear unto my song; 
And you who would tell of the Terrors of Hell 

I will not detain you long; 
Perhaps I intrude on a solitude you rather would 

have unbroken, 
Or trouble your ears with a list of fears you 

rather would leave unspoken. 

It is not a ballad of love I would sing, of love 

with its powers strong; 
I would tell a tale that will make you pale when 

you think of its cruel wrong; 
Of a "dreadful crime with nothing sublime its 

scaly form to enshroud, 
But it brings a tear for its misery and I'll tell it 

out aloud: 



STARVATION. 21 



In the streets of a great city I was wandering all 

alone; 
It was evening; I was lonely thinking of my 

distant home; 
For I was a slighted stranger in that city bright 

and fair, 
And I wandered from the gaslight, faint and 

giddy from its glare. 

And I turned into a side street with its build- 
ings grand and tall, 

Stretching upwards towards the heavens smoke- 
begrimed and dusty wall; 

And I mused upon their uses as I passed the 
stairway's door, 

Asking how the pompous owners looked upon 
the needy poor. 

Till I reached a dust-worn factory with its 
hamlets built about — 



22 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Little shanties, huts and hovels many were 
without a doubt — 

And I could but judge the dwellers by their habi- 
tations wild — 

When from out a dusky shadow crept a little 
beggar child. 

Clad in filthy rags and tatters — barefoot, feeble 

and forlorn — 
Such an abject form of misery better never had 

been born; 
But I listened to her story moved to pity and to 

tears, 
And I followed where she led me with a host of 

morbid fears. 

Followed to dirty cabin reeking filth and dirt 

decayed — 
Followed to a wretched pallet where a woman's 

form was laid — 



STARVATION. 23 



Saw the gaunt and ghastly havoc painted in 

that little room — 
Looked upon the suffering features — in them 

read a deathly doom. 

But she knew that she was sinking in the 

clammy arms of death, 
And I heard her wretched story, told me with 

her latest breath — 
Heard an awful tale of misery — surely death 

could not be worse- 
Heard her name the cruel wrongers — heard the 

dying woman's curse: 

"O, may heaven blight the laws of trade that 

deal in human life; 
May a double curse from Satan plunge the land 

in woe and strife; 
May the laws of caste be overthrown, and may 

blood flow like rain, 



24 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Till a dreadful vengeance has been wreaked 
upon the kings of gain! 

All in yain we worked and plodded in those 

days now long gone past, 
For the banker's cruel mortgage took our little 

home at last; 
Then we rented, and each year our frugal 

savings dwindled low, 
And we drifted, drifted, drifted, till we reached 

this den of woe. 

O, the dirty, dusty factory where my husband 
gave his blood, 

For the scanty little pittance scarcely equal to 
our food; 

O, the stony-hearted owners who would close 
that factory's door, 

Or withhold that scanty pittance from the death- 
bed of the poor. 



STARVATION. 25 



Then may heaven blight the laws of trade that 

deal in human life; 
May a double curse from Satan plunge the land 

in woe and strife; 
May the laws of caste be overthrown, and may 

blood flow like rain, 
Till a dreadful vengeance has been wreaked 

upon the kings of gain!" 

With a wild convulsive shudder on that wretched 

couch she lay, 
And I saw the death-dew forming — knew her 

soul had passed away. 
And I felt the wrongs she spoke of, as I stood 

there by her bed — 
And I joined that little beggar child in weeping 

o'er the dead. 



26 COXEY'S WARNING. 

O, you who would sing of the Horrors of Rum 

all finished is my song; 
And you who would tell of the Terrors of Hell I 

did not detain you long; 
But I saw a sight that forms a blight on our 

country's name sublime, 
And I told a tale that will make you pale if 

you choose to think of its crime. 

And I sung a dirge for the souls that surge 
towards the graveyard and its gloom, 

And I said a prayer for the souls in air o'er 
their bodies in the tomb; 

And I plead a cause for better laws that will 
brighten the worker's door, 

And I found the bat that is sapping at the life- 
blood of the poor. 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. 27 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. 

Is it right that a man should live in ele- 
gance and luxury while his neighbor starves in 
poverty and rags? 

You may travel in Europe and Asia, 

Or sail from Old England to Bombay — 
You may journey as far as Malaysia, 

And you'll hear of the wealth of Columbia. 
But now if you'll listen a second, 

Since the subject is brought to our mind, 
When we've taken a pencil and reckoned, 
We think you are likely to find: 

That Columbia is poor as a church mouse, 

Else why must an army of men 
Tramp a thousand miles to the White House, 
And then tramp back again 



COXEY'S WARNING. 



To their darkened homes, and their weeping 

wives, 
And their children crying alond for bread 
For the sustenance of their lives. 

Then why are we famous in England, 

And why do they laud us in Greece? 
Why even the natives of Finland, 

And the cities of Florence and Nice 
Have somehow got hold of the notion 

That Columbia is rich without doubt — 
And they credit it over the ocean; 
But I tell you that murder will out: 

For Columbia is poor as a church mouse, 

And the winter is coming on, 
And the states will all be in the poorhouse, 
Before the summer is gone — 
For our wants are pressing, and business is dead, 
And the people at large are crying for bread. 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH. 29 



What did you say? I am all in the wrong — 

Columbia is rich, and richer by far 
Than ever I dreamed, if I come along 

You will show me the home of a millionaire? 
Not a mean little hut, but a mansion fair, 

Of costly fabric and burnished with gold; 
And furnished inside with a lavish care, 

With spacious halls and a sweeping stair; 
How grand it seems 'neath the chandelier's 
glare! 
How like the castles of old! 

And they say that the owner has so much 

wealth, 
That it tires him out and injures his health 

When he tries to* figure the interest; 
He has houses and bonds and railroads and 
lands, 



30 COXEY'S WARNING. 

The wealth of the country is in his hands, 
And he reckons his income in millions. 
How like he is to Croesus! 

That ancient Lydian king — 
Who gathered the wealth of the state to 
himself, 
And his subjects all went begging. 
When he goes abroad he goes in state, 
With the trump of fashion and glitter of plate 

To astonish kings and princes; 
And now I see why the fame of Columbia 
Has spread o'er the seas from England to 
Bombay. 



I have seen enough — I was in the wrong- 
Columbia is rich, and richer by far 

Than ever I dreamed, for I went along 
And saw the home of the millionaire. 



COXEY'S ADDRESS. 31 

COXEY'S ADDRESS. 

Kind Mends, I go not forth to war, 
For that is something I abhor; 
It is not that I'm pleading for, 
Upward, then, and onward! 

All the land is filled with woe, 
Unto Congress would we go; 
There are none can say us no, 
Upward, then, and onward! 

We would show our real condition — 
Take a living, true petition 
Unto Congress now in session, 
Upward, then, and onward! 

Misery stares us in the face — 
Famine coming on apace — 
Death and Woe would run a race, 
Upward, then, and onward! 



32 COXEY'S WARNING. 



AN INALIENABLE RIGHT. 

The world owes me a liying. — Remote Ages. 
Born into this world am I, 
I know not whence — I know not why; 
I live awhile and then I die; 

But while I live the world owes me a living. 

Night and day were made for all, 
And so was this terrestrial ball; 
Yon have your life — so have the worms that 
crawl, 
And the world owes them a living. 

Sunshine bright is there for you, 
And atmosphere and water too; 
Then take your share — there's nothing due, 
For the world owes you a living. 



AN INALIEANBLE RIGHT. 33 

Sunshine bright is there for me, 
And atmosphere and water free; 
I own a share in simple fee, 
For the world owes me a living. 

Cereals, flowers, grass and tree, 
Bushes, plants, e'en all we see, 
Thrive and grow for you and me; 
And the world owes all a living. 

None should suffer — none should want, 
Starvation's figure should not haunt 
The homes of men; fell Shape, avaunt! 
For the world owes all a living. 

Born into this world am I, 

I know not whence — I know not why; 

I live awhile and then I die; 

But while I live the world owes me a living. 



34 COXEY'S WARNING. 



PUT YOUR SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL. 

It may be all right to "put your shoulder to 
the wheel," but what are you to do if you lack 
the wheel? 

I s'pose you've heard the saying, "Put your 

shoulder to the wheel." 
Now be honest, when you heard it how did it 

make you feel? 
I will venture it depended upon the circumstance 
Whether you would smile or frown when you 

heard this song and dance. 

Supposing you were on a "byke" and coasting 

down a slope; 
Your feet are off the pedals with your wheel at 

its full scope; 
A farmer in a corn field executes a little reel, 



PUT YOUR SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL. 35 

And calls out: "Hey, young feller, put your 
shoulder to the wheel!" 

Suposing you are on a load of heayy sand or 

lime; 
You reach a hill of high ascent your horses 

cannot climb; 
You tug and thrash your team about and bluster 

a great deal; 
A chap calls out: "Ho, sonny, put your shoulder 

to the wheel'" 

Supposing you are on a train that's going very 
slow; 

You tell the brakeman to whip up, as you would 
faster go; 

He turns upon you with a look of highly-tem- 
pered steel, 

And yells: "Say, bum, git out and put yer 
shoulder to de wheel!" 



36 COXEY'S WARNING. 

And so they did at Washington when Coxey's 
army came; 

The millionaires got out and said that Ooxey 
was to blame, 

For marching on the Capital with such a com- 
monweal, 

Composed of men who would not "put their 
shoulders to the wheel." 

But when you say that these are men who only 

care to shirk, 
You just get out yourself and try to find a little 

work; 
With money scarce and business dull, and then 

see how you feel; 
Your shoulder may be willing, but you cannot 

find a wheel. 



SUFFRAGE. 37 



SUFFRAGE. 

Your remedy for all these evils is the ballot 
box. — Speaker Crisp to Citizen Coxey— 1894. 

There had been a double shuffle in legislative 

bills; 
And a franchise had been granted that caused 

a list of ills; 
And the people all were chaffing beneath the 

weight of wrong; 
And denounced the franchise measure in lan- 
guage terse and strong. ■ 
And said that ere another year had winged 

itself away — 
They had done with men of bluster who voted 

for mere pay — 
They would vote for men of purpose who did 

the people's will — 



COXEY'S WARNING. 



Who would represent the people and repeal the 
franchise bill. 

Phil Owens was an honest man as ever walked 

on ground; 
He was a man of principle and by his word was 

bound; 
In business ever prompt to meet his obligations 

true, 
And when he said he'd do a thing, that very- 
thing he'd do; 
C. Centre was his residence — he kept a grocery 

store, 
And he had a rushing custom — he never asked 

for more; 
A well-read man was Owens, both in politics 

and law, 
And when he spoke, which seldom was, all 

others held their jaw. 



SUFFRAGE. 39 

Phil's county was a battle-ground, where each 

opposing foe 
Eanted and talked and preached about the 

the things he didn't know; 
And fought the same old questions o'er for years 

and years and years, 
And every time he fought he "moved the audi- 
ence to tears;" 
The county seat was Boroughsblood, and there 

the war waged high, 
And there each party's candidate resolved "to 

do or die;" 
Phil Owens' friends persuaded him to contest 

for the place; 
An independent candidate, and vowed he'd win 

the race. 

The partisan conventions met about the fifth of 
May; 



40 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Their drum corps marched around the town and 
made a grand display; 

There were torchlights and processions that 
made the welkin ring 1 . 

There were speeches and hand-shakings and 
sundry other thing; 

And when the "boys" got down to work a whis- 
per flew about, 

That everything had been "well fixed" and that 
it would "pan out." 

Full soon the nomination came before that 

motley crowd, 

i 
Then up arose a delegate and made a speech 

most loud; 
In which he spoke of "government" and took a 

"glorious pride" 
In asking the "endorsement" of the name of 

Taka Bribe: 



SUFFRAGE. 41 



And Mr. Taka Bribe was called to rise and give 
his views, 

Which he did in "choicest language" and trem- 
bling in his shoes; 

Said he heard his "country calling," and "tho' 
he must neglect 

His business interests," he would go without 
one "vain regret." 

The other worthy party, with a splutter and a 
dash, 

Went thro' the same performance, naming Mr. 
Givem Cash. 

Both Taka Bribe and Givem Cash were wealthy 

men of note, 
And their henchmen scoured the county for 

every scattered vote; 
While Owens stayed at home and weighed out 

tea and coal and oats, 



42 COXEY'S WARNING. 

They were dickering with the voters and buying 

up their votes; 
And if a friend of Owens seemed at first sight 

shy and cold, 
When he saw it was the practice he wilted 

under gold; 
And when the judges counted after all the 

work was done, 
The bulk of the votes went somewhere and Phil 

got thirty-one. 



WALL STREET. 43 



WALL STREET. 

O, thou fell monster of iniquity! 
Thou of the spacious jaw gulping down whole 
A country's happiness. Can naught appease 
Thy gluttonous appetite, or approach 
To stay thee in thy devastating path? 
Hear'st borne upon the wind a sobbing sound? 
'Tis only some poor mother weeping o'er 
Her starving child, but what is that to thee! 
Thy gaping maw is but half filled for aye 
Thou own'st but half the nation, and would own 
The whole. Could tears have barred thy hated 

step, 
Thou would'st have halted long ere this. 

Thy hand 
Is on the nation's pulse, and thou dost count 



44 COXEY'S WARNING. 

The beatings of its heart; thy bony claws 
Are at the nation's throat, and even now 
Thou'rt pressing hard upon the trachea. 
Thou'rt hungry, art thou not? A town or two 
Would ease thee up, would'st not, O, monster of 

evil? 
But say, dost know the time when thou wert 

young, 
And tottering on thy legs, and thou wert glad 
For some support to lean on? Now grown 

strong, 
Thou pay'st thy helper in a different coin. 

Wilt take a bribe, O, Wall Street? 
But well I ought to know that thou art prone 
To take a bribe; then take two dozen states, 
And move thy gain, ill-gotten gain, within, 
And get thy hydra form from out our sight. 



CAPITAL AND LABOR. 45 



CAPITAL AND LABOR. 

Can it be possible that a handful of men own 
the bulk of wealth of the country, and that the 
government must practically do their bidding? 

It began in our early history — 

This difference in wealth and power, % 
It began in our early history 

And gains each day and hour; 
The rich man adds to his riches — 

From the poor he takes away, 
He fashions the laws to suit himself 

And stints his workmen's pay — 
And he soon will own us body and soul, 

If we don't keep out of his way. 

When the rich man dies his son succeeds, 
And wealth begets more wealth — 



COXEY'S WARNING. 



Like a snowball rolled in soft, moist snow, 

Increaseth the rich man's pelf — 
What right has man in this wanton way 

His freedom to abuse? 
Is life, then, but a game of cards, 

Where one may win tho' another lose? 
If this keep on 'twill not be long 

Till we stand in Ireland's shoes ! 

There's a war cloud on the horizon — 

Even now it begins to lower, 
It will linger a little longer, 

Then burst with a terrible power; 
When Money and Labor shall stand arrayed, 

And blood and brain shall mingle with dust; 
The question of Slavery has been disposed, 

And so this question must — 
And a brotherhood new be formed from the ruin, 

In which mankind may trust. 



SONG OF KELLY'S MEN. 47 



SONG OF KELLY'S MEN. 

Ho! Freemen of Columbia! 

Let it sound from shore to shore; 
Ho! Freemen of Columbia! 

Let it echo o'er and o'er; 
Freedom's flag is trailing low — 
Shall we let it lower go? 
Shall we rescue it or no? 
Hear our battle cry: 



Chorus : 



Sires of ours fought to save, 
That blest emblem of the brave, 
Hung its folds on high; 
Never humbled by the foe — 
Shall we let it grovel now? 
Never! tho' we die! 



48 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Ho! Men or trades ! Give ear! Give ear! 

Hearken to onr song; 
Ho! Starving men and women! 

Join our marching throng; 
Plutocrats have seized the power, 
Gold has purchased Virtue's flower, 
Vampires tread in Freedom's bower, 
Hear our battle cry: 

Chorus : 

Sires of ours fought to save, 
That blest emblem of the brave, " 
Hung its folds on high; 
Never humbled by the foe — 
Shall we let it grovel now? 
Never! tho' we die! 

Ho! Farmers, laborers, worMngmen! 
Your children cry for food ; 



SONG OF KELLY'S MEN. 49 

Ho! Denizens of cities ! 
Would ye aid the public good? 
Join us in our glorious cause, 
Make the hosts of plunder pause, 
Help us plead for better laws, 
Hear our battle cry: 



Chorus: 



Sires of ours fought to save, 
That blest emblem of the brave, 
Hung its folds on high; 
Never humbled by the foe — . 
Shall we let it grovel now? 
Never! tho'wedie! 



50 COXEY'S WARNING. 



THE OLD FARMER'S COMPLAINT. 

There 'pears to be a right smart diff'rence atween 

Bill Jones an' me, 
Altho' when we were boys we were as mnch like 

as boys could be, 
An' how this changin' come about is more than I 

ever knowed, 
An' after figurin' it over I concluded it jest 

growed. 

Me an' Bill used to go to the same deestrict skool 

together, 
An' many's the times we went huntin' in all sorts 

o' wintry weather; 
Bill didn't never seem to be more pert than ever 

I used to be, 
An' about this changin' round so much — well, 

that alius did git me. 



THE OLD FARMER'S COMPLAINT. ' 51 

You wouldn't think from my grammar I ever 

taught deestrict skool? 
Well, I have, niany's the times, an' I kep a purty 

good rule; 
While I was dewin' that — Bill Jones, he up and 

left the ol' farm, 
An' worked in a bank in some city, the name I 

didn't larn. 

Humph! I didn't try to, for I didn't think much 

o' Bill's ventur', 
With his dad a-tryin' to pay off a big mortgag' 

indentur', 
So I kinder lost all track o' Bill till some fourteen 

year ago, 
When back he hussels to Jimtown with a heap o' 

fuss an' show. 

An' what d'ye think? Builds a bank o' his own 
with a bizness fine — . 



/ ■ 



52 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Come fourteen year now — an' somehow that 

pesky morgag' o' mine 
Has got round to Bill's place for klecshun an' 

Bill says t'other day: 
"I'll have to foreclose that mortgage, Smith," in a 

dis'ant sort o' way. 

Bill's a-makin' big money in that bank o' hisn, 

goodness knows! 
He never purtends to notis me—guess he's 

'shamed o' my clothes — 
Jest how he got sich high power o'er me is more 

than I ever knowed; 
But after iigurin' it over I concluded it jest 

growed. 



JONATHAN BINDER. 53 

JONATHAN BINDER LONGS TO BE A 
MILLIONAIRE. 

(With profuse apologies to D. Green, Esq.) 

I. 

A restless genius was Rinder's son — 

His name was Jonathan — age twenty-one. 

The girls all said he'd he a hon, 

If he'd only brace up and have some fun ; 

The solemnest creature under the sun; 

No laugh, no smile — f or I must mention 

That he had riveted his attention 

Upon a wonderful dissension; 

Which seemed to form a bone of contention 

In all he said and all he did. 

For several years he had pondered and planned 
As to how he could get some money on hand 



54 COXEY'S WARNING. 

To buy a dress suit rich and grand. 
He envied the city people who 
Could dress up better than he could do. 
And so he considered day by day - 
Thought, reflected and figured away 
How best he could make the old farm pay. 
His grinning brothers, Ararat, 

Moses, Levi, Jehosaphat, 

Daniel, Samuel, Nebuchadnazzer, 
Jimmie, Timmie, and little Belshazzer, 
Were quite content to wear blue jeans, 
To stay at home on the old man's means, 
To live on pumpkin pie and beans. 
But Jonathan longed for a black mustache; 
He longed for a diamond which had a flash, 
And a horse and buggy to cut a dash. 

He'd eat good hash, 

And make a mash 
On all the girls he chanced to see. 



JONATHAN BINDER. 55 

The thing looks plain enough to me. 

And if you doubt it, 
Hear how Jonathan reasoned about it: 

"The dudes can fly, 

An' why can't I? 

Must we give in," 

Says he with a grin, 

" 'T the actor an' snake charmer 

Are smarter'n a farmer? 
Just fold your hands an' see the scholar 
An' docter an' lawyer beat us holler? 
Is the leetle, chatterin', sassy preacher 
Better 'n me, or is the teacher? 

Jest show me that 

Some other brat 
Hez got more brains than's in my hat, 
An' I'll back down an' not till then!" 



56 COXEY'S WARNING. 

II. 

Now, you all must know this was the time 
When American genius commenced to shine. 
Invention began to shed her beams, 
The result was a number of different machines. 
Threshers and binders, mowers and rakes, 
Plows and harrows, and even club skates. 
The machine which took the farmer's eye, 
More than the rest and made him sigh, 
Was the new self-binder, the same 
That would both cut and bind the grain. 

The dealers told 

Of millions sold 
Out in the west by agents bold; 

Back east they thought 

Some would be bought, 
But not very many on account of the drought. 
Still as the profits were very great, 



JONATHAN BINDER. 57 

And as it yet was an early date, 

Postmaster Brown 

Of little Bugtown 
'Lowed he'd bring some pamplets down, 

And take an agency. 

"Wall," said he, "Neow who can tell 
How many binders I may sell. 

Three or four 

Or even more 
Maybe I'll sell out half a score. 
But say, arter the sale is made 
And the outfit is in the depot laid, 
Who'll take her out and put her together 
And see that she runs in all sorts of weather? 

Now as for me 

I don't know B 
About this old machinery; 
And nothin' at all about a binder; 



58 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Hello ! here comes young Jonathan Kinder 

I'll talk to him." 

He did with vim, 
For he made him believe he was destined to be 
The greatest mechanic from sea to sea. 
And he said that when he sold a binder 
The man to run it was Jonathan Kinder. 
He gave him some money and said: "Don't stop 

Until you reach the company's shop 

And learn to put a binder up." 

III. 

So Jonathan Kinder went away, 

But where he went to no one could say — 

•Pacific Ocean or Hudson Bay. 

Meanwhile up at Auburn, New York, 

Jonathan handled a knife and fork 

As well as any native of Cork, 

And learned to put up a binder. 



JONATHAN BINDER. 59 

"Now," said the foreman, "come here, you, 

And I'll tell you exactly what to do. 

Here's your platform, there's your wheel, 

Here's the canvas and there's the reel, 

There's the sickle and sickle heel. 

Turn your big wheel round, about, 

This side inside, the other side out. 

Take a hammer and open this box;i 

Inside is the rigging and that's what knocks. 

Open your eyes and do your best; 

These other two boxes contain the rest. 

Why, it's as easy as any song, 

Platform up and bolt it on. 

Here's a rod you'll have to bend 

Out of its general line of trend. 

Bolt the grain wheel on the end. 

Hammer around and raise a din, 

Here's a cogwheel and there's the pin 

We take to fasten the needle in. 



60 COXEY'S WARNING, 

Then put up the frame- work and bolt on the seat, 

Young man, this binder can't be beat. 

Just see how very trim and neat 

She is when placed upon her feet. 

Bolt on the binder and let it slide, 

Put on the canvas with the name outside; 

Put in the sickle, look out for the prong, 

Bolt on your double-tree and tongue, 

Hitch on a team and start her along. 

And now, dear sir," in tones quite bland, 

"I hope you fully understand." 

And Jonathan really thought he knew 
Just precisely what to do. 
And then he'd picture his very self 
Rolling head over heels in wealth. 

And now it is no more than square 
To state that Jonathan did not care 



JONATHAN BINDER. 61 

How the binder companies fare — 
In fact, he only thought of his salary, 
Parquet seats and girls in the gallery. 

IV. 

In the meantime Postmaster Brown 

Had very carefully canvassed around 

For the postmaster's duties are few in Bugtown. 

And strange to say, he sold a binder 

To the next door neighbor of old man Binder. 

Then Brown rushed into the depot place 

With important business upon his face, 

And sent a message to Auburn, New York — 

He wanted the expert, Jonathan Binder, 

To come and put up a new self-binder. 

V. 

Often I've heard the natives say 
That this was the most excitable day 



62 COXEY'S WARNING. 

That Bugtown ever witnessed. 

For something they never had seen before 

Was taking place at their very door. 

So peasant and peer 

From far and near 
Turned out to see a machine so queer, 
And waited for the expert to appear. 

When Jonathan came they were somewhat 

amazed, 
On their former townsman astonished they 

gazed, 
And he himself was rather dazed. 
But probably the most bewildered ones 
Were old man Binder and his other ten sons. 
They hung around outside the crowd, 
And were most afraid to speak out loud. 
While all the neighbors joined and said 
That Jonathan had a wonderful head. 



JONATHAN BINDER. 63 

He seized a hammer and went to work, 
Opened the box with a nervous jerk, 
When such a medley of bolts and springs, 
Eods and wires, screws and rings, 
Wheels and a thousand other things 
Came tumbling out and rolled about 
That soon the expert paused in doubt. 
'Twas an Osborne Junior left-hand binder, 
'Twas a Chinese puzzle to Jonathan Kinder. 

For a week he worked and a week he swore, 
He hammered his fingers, his clothes he tore, 
He pulled and strained till his muscles were sore. 
And he put the seat where the canvas should be, 
He jammed his elbows and chopped his knee, 
Got dust in his eyes till he couldn't see. 

Till at last it was done, 
The greatest contrivance under the sun — 
The likes of that binder had never been seen. 
It looked more like a flying machine. 



64 COXEY'S WARNING. 

VI. 

"And now," said Jonathan, "let her rip." 
He held the lines in a steady grip, 
He gave the rim of his hat a flip, 
And touched the horses up with the whip. 
At first it stuck, he hollered "whoa." 
The horses paused, the machine let go, , 
First with a rumble, then with a roar, 
And the way the iron and splinters flew 
Was a caution, the air was blue, 

And those who knew 

Avow 'tis true 
That Jonathan Hinder went right through 
The whole machine like a sheaf of grain. 

The canvas rolled him till he couldn't rest, 
The needle pierced him through the breast, 
The packers kicked him on the vest; 
The reel came down on the back of his neck 



JONATHAN BINDER. 65 

And yanked Mm back amongst the wreck; 
In a wonderful whirl of broken springs, 
Shooting stars and other things ; 
And he hears a yoice, 'tis old man Binder's : 
"Say, Jonathan, how do yeou like binders?" 

Slowly and painfully where he lay, 

Jonathan turned and looked that way, 

As he rubbed his neck with the back of his cuff, 

"Wall, I like binders well enough," 

He said; "but I think it's thuuderin' mean 

To have to go through a whole machine." 

VII. 

MOEAL. 

This tale has a moral, as D. Green's had, 
And this is the moral — The times are bad, 
When a man will do like Jonathan Binder, 
For the sake of money go thro' a self-binder. 

5 



66 COXEY'S WARNING. 



THE WHEELMEN'S CHORUS. 

A wheelman stood at a club room door, 

Sighing, his thoughts unspoken ; 
As he looked his bicycle carefully o'er, 

And noted the pieces broken. 
The boys stood round, as in duty bound, 

Their sympathy plainly revealing, 
Till the wheelman sang and they all joined in, 

This chorus of kindred feeling: 

Chorus : 

O, we're all in for Coxey, for he wants good roads, 

And we'll all stay with Coxey till the ocean over- 
flows, 

B'gosh, he's in the right — our highways are a 
blight, 

And we'll all petition Congress to give us better 
roads. 



THE WHEELMEN'S CHORUS. 67 

The wheelman spoke and in epic odes 

Sadly, his woes extolling; 
And he told how he rode over country roads, 

And how they sent him rolling. 
The tracks were rough and the gutters tough, 

And he didn't get back till evening, 
Then the wheelman sang, and the boys joined in, 

This chorus of kindred feeling: 

Chorus : 

O, we're all in for Coxey, for he wants good roads, 

And we'll all stay with Coxey till the ocean over- 
flows, 

B'gosh, he's in the right — our highways are a 
blight, 

And we'll all x>etition Congress to give us better 
roads. 



COXEY'S WARNING. 



The wheelman turned with the lump of grief 

Swelling, up in his throttle; 
And he went to a bar-room to find relief, 

And drowned his woes in the bottle. 
The boys stood round, as in duty bound, 

Then up the street they went reeling, 
And the welkin rang as they gaily sang 

This chorus of kindred feeling: 

Chorus : 

CX we're all in for Coxey, for he wants good roads, 

And we'll all stay with Coxey till the ocean over- 
flows, 

B'gosh, he's in the right — our highways are a 
blight, 

And we'll all petition Congress to give us better 
roads. 



THE STORY OF THE BUZZ-SAW. 69 



THE STORY OF THE BUZZ-SAW. 

Old Bill Grimes had an old saw mill — 

Hark! to the hum of the buzz-saw! 
It stood at the foot of a lofty hill, 
And the wheel turned round with a merry good 

will; 
The sawdust flew, and the wind it blew, 
And the old saw buzzed, as if it knew 
That the course it ran must be steady and true. 
Hark! to the hum of the saw! 

Old Grimes died, but the mill still stood — 

Hark! to the hum of the buzz-saw! 
And it slew the monarchs of the wood, 
With a merry good will, as it knew it could; 
The sawdust flew, and the wind it blew, 
And the old saw buzzed, as if it knew 



70 COXEY'S WARNING. 

That the course it ran must be steady and true. 
Hark! to the hum of the saw! 

Old Grimes' son died — and his — and his— 

Hark! to the hum of the buzz-saw! 
But the mill attended strictly to biz, 
With a merry good will, and it made things sizz; 
The sawdust flew, and the wind it blew, 
And the old saw buzzed, as if it knew 
That the course it ran must be steady and true. 
Hark! to the hum of the saw! 

And thus it buzzed right merrily — 

Hark! to the hum of the buzz-saw! 
Till eighteen hundred and ninety-three, 
When it gave up the ghost and ceased to be; 
The wind still blew, as it used to do, 
And the blackbirds sang, and the bluebirds flew, 
While Grimes the Fifth is for Coxey true. 
H'sh! can you hear the hum of a saw? 



GOVERNMENTAL RAILROADS. 71 



GOVERNMENTAL RAILROADS. 

Cannot the government manage railroads 
with as much success and profit as it does the 
postal system? 

There was rushing, there was crushing, there was 

hurrying to and fro, 
When the news of the election fluttered high and 

fluttered low; 
There were men who loved their leaders, there 

were men who fought for law, 
There were bleeders, there were men pleaders, 

there were some who said: O, pshaw! 
But the men whom most I noticed who were 

there without fail, 
Were the men who had a notion they would like 

to fix the mail. 



72 COXEY'S WARNING. 

For we have a postal system that goes all the 

country o'er — 
It has been in operation now since seventeen 

ninety-four; 
We hire men to run it, and we pay them what we 

like, 
And, b'gosh, in all that length of time there's 

never been a strike. 
We have cheaper rates of postage than we ever 

could expect 
If we "farmed" our postal system to a few of the 

elect; 
And as sure as two and two make four, you never 

see it fail, 
That the men are legion who would like to help 

fix the mail. 

And oftentimes I think how very proper it would 
be, 



GOVERNMENTAL RAILROADS. 73 

If our nation owned the railroads in a pure and 

simple fee; 
Then our freight rates would be lower, which 

would make the people smile, 
And, perhaps, our charge for passengers would 

be a cent a mile; 
All the rates would be adjusted then, and strikes 

would be unknown, 
And the masses would enjoy what now a few 

enjoy alone; 
And men would qualify for work, you'd see that 

without fail, 
They'd be as anxious for a place as they are to 

fix the mail. 



74 COXEY'S WARNING. 



SANDERS' INVASION OF KANSAS. 

He marshaled his legions in the mountains inac- 
cessible; 

Their number is myriad, too great to be expressi- 
ble; 

He has means at his command said to be inex- 
haustible; 

And he proposes to march thro' Kansas and 
tramp on the grass. 

He has guns — the same that the Catholics used 

to massacre 
All their Protestant brethren one time at a big 

Passoyer — 
He is going to use them to kill every blamed las' 

feller, 
For he proposes to march thro' Kansas and tramp 

on the grass. 



SANDERS' INVASION OF KANSAS. 75 

There's Gov. Waite of Colorado gives him assist- 
ance, 

And Lewelling, our own governor, will make no 
resistance, 

He gathers up his cohorts with assiduous persist- 
ance, 

And he proposes to march thro' Kansas and 
tramp on the grass. 

His army is thus divided: ninety thousand, mon- 
archic — 

Two million, socialistic — nineteen billion, patri- 
archic — 

Seven trillion, communistic — one decillion, anar- 
chic — 

And he proposes to march thro' Kansas and 
tramp on the grass. 

Eeinforcements arrive by geometrical progres- 
sion, 



76 COXEY'S WARNING. 

And he swears not to make a single important 

concession; 
All the vegetation on earth cannot change his 

direction, 
For he proposes to march thro' Kansas and tramp 

on the grass. 

He planned this expedition for a little recrea- 
tion — 

His sole object being the destruction of vegeta- 
tion — 

When he gets thro' joking he'll go back to his 
habitation, 

But he proposes to march thro' Kansas first and 
tramp on the grass. 



THE NABOB'S ADVICE TO HIS SONS. 77 



THE NABOB'S ADVICE TO HIS SONS. 

Git a plenty while you're a-gittin', says I.- 
Hoosier Schoolmaster. 

Come here, my boys, come gather round my knee, 

And I'll tell you the secret of my wealth; 
You know I cannot always with you be, 

But I leave you with great riches and good 
health. 
I have made a great success of this life; 

Our chances are all equal when we die; 
And the only winning motto in the strife 

Is: Git a plenty while you're a-gittin', says I. 

If e'er you see a chance to corner grain, 

By joining with some other men your chance — 

Or if you have a scheme to reap rich gain, 

By bearing down on price and then advance — 



78 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Why, first be sure of it, then go ahead; 

What matter if the masses weep and sigh, 
What matter if they starve and cry for bread, 

But: Git a plenty while you're a-gittin', says I. 

I followed that old motto all my days, 

No matter in what business I might be; 
And sticking close by it I made my raise, 

And gathered to myself a kingly fee. 
Your grandsire told me he had done the same, 

When years ago he used to sell and buy; 
He left it as an heirloom to our name, 

So : Git a plenty while you're a-gittin', says I. 



FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. 79 



FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. 

Beneath the weeping willow trees, 

A bubbling spring burst forth; 
The waters laughed and caroled free 

And joyous in their mirth; 
The birds sang here their sweetest songs, 

And here the squirrel played; 
The traveler's aching limbs oft stretched 

Beneath the cooling shade. 

Here Nature crowned with Spring's green leaves 

Had queenly charms to lend; 
Here poet's soul could gratify 

And painter's colors blend; 
The rustic bench beneath the boughs, 

"With tendrils intertwining, 
A favorite place for hide and seek, 

Or love-sick maid repining. 



80 COXEY'S WARNING. 

The rivulet, which led away 

The surplus water's power, 
Was decked with water cresses green, 

And many a water flower. 
Its gurgling waters trained to sail 

The truant school boy's boat, 
Its bank at twilight's hour concealed 

The green frog's rasping note. 

A granite slab with coat of moss, 

Upheld its ancient form, 
From some firm stratum underneath, 

To shield the spring from harm. 
The willows dipped their pliant limbs 

To kiss the waters pure, 
And here have I in bygone days 

Spent many an idle hour. 

I loved to lie beneath the trees, 



FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. 81 

Beside the playful brook; 
I loved the sweet seclusiveness, 

And quiet of this nook; 
To quit awhile the world's rude push, 

And life's hard road and bitter, 
For robin's chirp and thrushes' song 

And swallow's merry twitter. 

I loved to hear the murmur, 

The sweet and gentle strain 
Of waters struggling thro' the rocks, 

To reach the air again. 
To me 'tis sweeter far than that 

Of man's most famous chord, 
To listen to the pleasant songs, 

Which Nature can afford. 

A public life has many charms, 
Of fame the sirens sing, 



82 COXEY'S WARNING. 

But these could ne'er replace the joy, 

I had while at the spring; 
Such joy as soothed the lone exile — 

Bleak St. Helena's guest, 
Whose spring beneath the willows cheered, 

When maddening thoughts depressed. 



Yes, tho' I'm far removed from where 

My thoughts had fondly strayed, 
And tho' in wisdom I have gained, 

In years and am more staid, 
I still shall treasure them as long 

As recollections cling, 
The happiest hours of my life, 

Those hours at the spring. 



THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. 83 

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. 
I. 

0, have you seen the little wheel that people talk 

about? 
It turns upon a pivot and a prize conies rolling 

out; 
Sometimes you get a pocket-knife — sometimes a 

rolled-gold ring, 
Mayhap you get a silver spoon or a little bangle 

thing; 
But you have to pay a nickel — you pay it on 

probation, 
And you always draw a prize if you strike the 

combination. 

II. 

These little wheels have been the cause of many 
a joke and wrangle, 



84 COXEY'S WARNING. 

For the man who gets the rolled-gold ring is sure 

• to want the bangle; 
And the man who gets the bangle will propel it 

at the moon, 
For he tried to draw a pocket-knife or else a silver 

spoon ; 
And so they throw their nickels in and strive in 

emulation 
To see which one will be the first to strike the 

combination. 



III. 



There are many wheels of fortune, but they're all 

about the same, 
For they turn upon a pivot and they work a little 

game; 
Life is mainly run on pivot wheels and one must 

take his chance, 



THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE. 85 

And the value of his drawings will depend on 
circumstance; 

But to one who is observing 'tis a source of great 
vexation 

To see so very few who seem to strike the com- 
bination. 



86 COXEY'S WARNING. 



COXEYISM. 

What is it to be a Coxeyite? 

To wish a nation commonweal — 
To help to mend its faults — to overthrow 

Its enemies who seek to steal 
Its life and glory in its woe. 

What is it to be a Coxeyite? 

To hate oppression's servile chain, 
To seek to break its hold — to pray and plead 

Before stone-hearted kings of gain, 
And show to them a country's need. 

What is it to be a Coxeyite? 

To feel thy heart beat for the poor, 
To aid thy fellow-man — to smile benign 

On all mankind — to wait the hour 
When thro' the clouds the sun shall shine. 



PRESIDENT CLEVELAND. 87 



PRESIDENT CLEVELAND. 

O, Man of Destiny! it is thy fate 
To rule a nation when the waves dash high 

Around the ship of state. 
When deadly lightnings gleam athwart the sky, 
And deep- voiced bellowings of an angry Jove 

Re-echo thro' the vault of heaven. 

O, Man of Destiny! canst thou turn aside 
The current of Niagara, or canst thou lower 

The flow of ocean's tide? 
Methinks if thou didst have that much of power, 
Then mightst thou speak the word and make 
times good, 

And change the course of history. 

O, Man of Destiny! thou hast been tried, 
And three times o'er didst prove thy metal pure; 



COXEY'S WARNING. 



The test has been applied 
And thou wert not found wanting. In this hour, 
When the dark nimbus-cloud hangs heavy o'er 
the land, 

We feel that thou art sruiltless of its cause. 



A WORD FOR SOCIALISM. 89 



A WORD FOR SOCIALISM. 

'Twill surely come. As sure as night and day 
Do follow one another round and round, 
The time is drawing near to usher in 
A new regime. And yet are some who say : 
It cannot be. O, man ! who art thou then, 
That thou should'st set thy wisdom 'gainst all 

time? 
An atom of an atom, which has been 
Divided up ten million times, thou art — 
A molecule of insignificance. 

Think'st thou, poor worm, the present age of man, 

With all its crying evils spread abroad, 

Has reached the heights sublime? So thought 

the Greeks, 
And recked the Romans in their time and thou, 



90 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Altho' thou see'st the errors of the past, 

Wilt make an idol of a passing age. 

"lis thy false pride that holds thee to the thought, 

So steeped art thou within thine own conceit. 

If thou had'st had thy life in ancient times, 

Thou would' st have argued that the earth is flat; 

And jeered at any form of government 

But that of monarchy — and who can tell, 

If thou had'st had an opportunity, 

Thou might'st have been another Pontius Pilate. 

The world has been progressing since those 

days — 
Each century sees it reach a higher plane — 
And still it is advancing. We who live 
Upon its surface at the present time, 
Can know not what the future may bring forth, 
But from the past; and see, each added year 
Breeds some new theory in the fertile brain 



A WORD FOR SOCIALISM. 91 

Of man — then who can say what social forms 
Will be observed, by people who shall live 
Upon this globe ten cycle's time from now? 



92 COXEY'S WARNING. 



LUCK AND CHANCE. 

Some people say there's no such thing as luck; 
That what we think has come by chance is pluck. 

Examine, then, the records strewn about, 
And see if they will bear this saying out: 

Two men upon a storm-tossed sea are cast; 
The waves dash high, all hope of help is past. 

Both struggle, and one safely reaches shore; 
The other sinks and rises nevermore. 

A train is ditched and twenty persons killed; 
While fifty more are nothing more than spilled. 

Two birds before a hunter's gun take wing; 
One flies away — one never more will sing. 



LUCK AND CHANCE. 93 

When lightning strikes — two men are in a cleft; 
One is struck dead — the other one is left. 

Two boys are born upon a self -same day; 
One sports in wealth, the other works for pay. 

Two men go west and labor in the mines, 
To see if they can find the ore that shines. 

One man grows rich — finds nuggets of great size; 
The other starves — a poor man till he dies. 

We see examples every day and week, 
That teach us we are only Nature's freak. 

And yet some say there's no such thing as luck; 
That what we think has come by chance is pluck. 



94 COXEY'S WARNING. 



THE AGED WANDERER. 

I saw him pass along the crowded street — 
A weary look was in his aged eye — 

Wistful he gazed at those he chanced to meet, 
And, ever and anon, he seemed to sigh. 

"A lazy tramp and he is on the beat," 

I thoughtl heard you mutter, passing by. 

'Twas supper time — I saw him once again, 
Standing before an open restaurant door; 

Twice did he think to venture in and then 
He turned away. "No supper for the poor," 

I thought I heard him say — 'twas the same man 
I knew his wretched features, I am sure. 

'Twas bedtime — I was passing to my room, 
Along the partially deserted walk — 



THE AGED WANDERER. 95 

Compared to day 'twas silent as the tomb — 
But, hark! methinks I hear some fellow talk; 

And peering closely thro' the semi-gloom, 
I see a prostrate form — who is the gawk? 

I struck a match — once more 'twas my old tramp, 
Sleeping upon the flagstone restlessly; 

The dew of night had made his gray hair damp — 
He dreams — a movement of his lips I see 

And listen : "Money — money in the bank — 
But none for me — no, none for me — for me." 



96 COXEY'S WARNING. 

WILL IT BE THUS IN HEAVEN, MAMA? 

Will it be thus in Heaven, mama, 
When we reach that glorious place, 
Will the poor be clothed in tatters and rags, 
And the rich in silks and lace? 
Will the rich folks live in splendid homes, 
While the poor repose on pallets of straw, 
And shall we often go hungry to bed — 
Will it be thus, mama? 

Will I have my old blue dress, mama, 
That I've worn since father died, 
When the people came to the funeral, 
And, dear mother, how you cried! 
Will the other girls be dressed up fine, 
And will it be Heaven's law, 
That I must wear my old blue gown — 
Will it be thus, mama? 



WILL IT BE THUS IN HEAVEN, MAMA? 97 

Will the rich be favored there, mama, 
In the regions of light above, 
And will the poor be welcome there, 
When they reach that realm of love, 
Will the Money God retain his power, 
To hold the poor man's soul in awe, 
And grant his favors to the rich — 
Will it be thus, mama? 

Will we poor little girls be crowded out, 
From the joyous white-robed throng, 
And will they answer with cruel words, 
If we even speak of our wrong, 
Will only the rich be happy and gay, 
With Christ and the Eleven, 
Will it be thus in Heaven, mama — 
O, will it be thus in Heaven? 



98 COXEY'S WARNING. 



THE CRY OF CAPITAL. 

Let us alone and stop tinkering at the Tariff 
and the times will get better. 

A cur will growl whene'er another canine ven- 
tures near, 
With purpose fixed upon some juicy bone or 
morsel rare — 
The lucky dog, that claims the same his own, will 
shake for fear 
Of losing it in spite of ever watchful eye and 
care. 
'Twas ever thus. A favored man is always prone 
to sneer: 
Let us alone, good people, go about your own 
affair, 
But do not bother us — perchance the times por- 
tend you drear, 



THE CRY OF CAPITAL. 99 

It cannot last for aye — in future time you'll 
better fare, 

So do not change the laws, the dear old laws, 
which long have stood 

Our country's bulwark 'gainst the foe — contain- 
ing all that's good. 

This is their battle cry — a cry for country, home 

and laws — 
But why should they vociferate in voice so loud 

and clear, 
And why throw gold into the scales to surer 

serve their cause? 
Are they so patriotic then, and do they hold 

more dear 
This land of ours than do the humble tillers of 

the soil? 
Ah, no! They work thus on the mass to serve 

their ends for spoil. 



100 COXEY'S WARNING. 

In years agone by money "bribes or party pc_iey, 
Were laws enacted which did seem to be of 
good attest; 
Long have we known that what had seemed to be 
prosperity 
Was superficial and, forsooth, these laws were 
not the best; 
They did not care for all but only in reality, 
Cared for a few, in fact, were detrimental to 
the rest; 
We sought to change them, for we had a vast 
majority 
Of voters, but so strong a front did we find 
manifest, 
So thick were pits and snares and wiles in which 

our people fell, 
That yet our many trials and efforts have not 
fared full well. 



THE CRY OF CAPITAL. 101 

When laws are bad and have a very evil tendency, 
The eyil cannot all be covered up — it will crop 
out; 
And so it did — the times grew bad and worse, and 
finally, 
The golden cohorts, apparently, yielded and 
fled in rout; 
The masses spake and voted and the times boded 
badly, 
For vampires venal who therewith did hoard 
their wealth and pout; 
Thus times grew still more dull, till want and woe 
and poverty 
Assailed the brave men who for once had dared 
to vote without 
The dread consent of master — straightway up 

these kings of gain, 
And say: Let us alone, and then good times 
will come asrain. 



102 COXEY'S WARNING. 

What placid egotism! How plainly they would 

intimate, 
That it would please them should we speak and 

vote the other way 
Next time, and thus to even up the politicians' 

slate; 
And every well-paid party henchman rouses 

up to say: 
That good times will appear if we, before it is too 

late, 
. Change our opinions ; therewith every fool and 

knave and jay 
Joins in the cry and says within his ignoramus 

pate: 
That times would be much better if we let the 

money kings 
Have their own way about the Tariff and the 

laws and things. 



THE CRY OF CAPITAL. 103 

And then these robbers of the needy poor stand 
off afar, 
And gloat a golden triumph o'er — the greedy 
gang of knaves! 
While wild and fierce the common people wage 
a mimic war 
Of votes, and every henchman circulates his 
gold, and raves 
About the times; what matters it which party 
gains the star! 
Each but a craven lot or both a set of servile 
slaves, 
In whom is naught of ill that golden bribes will 
not unbar; 
But when a long petition of the common people 
braves 
Its way to Congress, it stays not long — some 
nabob's hobby 



104 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Crowds it out because, perchance, it has no 
gold in lobby. 

Can this keep on? How long? It must end some 
time and full soon; 
Or else we soon shall be a nation of dull ten- 
antry; • 
Slaves forced to crave from masters on our knees 
each paltry boon, 
On one side, princes; on the other, tramps and 
peasantry. 
Then heed not, starving workmen, to the siren's 
golden tune, 
With which they would decoy you, 'tis their 
old-time policy; 
But pinch them hard and don't let up till ye have 
worked their ruin — 
'Twere right to turn them out and let them 
taste of beggary; 



THE CRY OF CAPITAL. 105 

And see that you adopt quite different laws for 

future years, 
In which you stipulate for bread instead of woe 

and tears. 



106 COXEY'S WARNING. 

THE POOE MAN'S SOLILOQUY. 
(Capt. Jack Crawford's parody on "The Raven.") 

Once, when I was weak and weary, and the day 

was cold and dreary, 
I was famished, almost starving — ragged were 

the clothes I wore, 
I was thinking of suspensions, and the railroad 

king's intentions, 
For they were then in convention, planning as 

they planned before; 
'Tis monopoly, I whispered, and the wolf is at 

the door — 
This it is — and nothing more. 

Thus for hours I sat and pondered, sat and closed 
my eyes and wondered — 



THE POOR MAN'S SOLILOQUY. 107 

Wondered why these men of millions were not 
like the men of yore; 
And the answer came — 'tis fashion, hoarding 
gold to please their passion, 
With fancy teams forever dashing — dashing 

past the poor man's door; 
Scornfully they look and mutter as they pass 
the poor man's door: 
"Our slaves-— and nothing more." 

Their slaves? Aye, chained and fettered, "Slave" 
on every brow is lettered, 
You must sign to their conditions, or they'll 
grind you to the floor; 
You have, with a weak subjection, severed every 
free connection, 
U. S. troops are their protection — you have 
signed your names — ye swore 
To obey — and nothing more. 



108 COXEY'S WARNING. 

O, ye gods! And must we languish in our pov- 
erty and anguish, 
Starve while money kings are planning how to 
keep their gold in store? 
Is our country not enlightened, or its heads like 
cowards frightened, 
That the reins should not be tightened on these 

robbers of the poor? 
Yes! The toiling mass can do it — we have 
changed such things before; 
Give them power — nevermore. 

While corruption reigns in office, every knave 
and fool and novice, 
For a sum of filthy lucre will betray his trust — 
and more; 
They will legislate to press you, and in every way 
distress you, 
Yet they'll meet you and caress you, but they're 
traitors to the core; 



THE POOR MAN'S SOLILOQUY. 109 

They will swear by all that's holy — they will 
argue and implore; 
For your vote — but nothing more. 

Look toward the broad Atlantic, see a million 
starving, frantic — 
Bread or blood is what they're asking — blood 
or bread to feed the poor ; 
Begging bread for which they're slaving— dan- 
gers on the railroad braving, 
Want and hunger ever craving, gnawing deep 
into the core, 
While the money gods are basking on the 
Coney Island shore; 
These are facts — and nothing more. 

Shall we beg to be in fetters, are these money 
kings our betters, 
That we must like slaves approach them, while 
our wants they still ignore? 



110 COXEY'S WARNING. 

No! There must be some reaction, something 
done to crush this faction — 
Labor must have satisfaction, when grim 

Death stands at the door; 
Shall I tell you how to get it — how to strike 
corruption's core? 
Vote for tricksters — nevermore. 



WESTWARD DRIFT OF CIVILIZATION. Ill 



THE WESTWAED DEIFT OF CIVILIZATION. 

» 

"Westward, the course of empire takes its 
way/' 
But when it comes to where it started forth — 

What then? 

I. 

Oft have I marveled at the strange array, 

Of mankind moving towards the setting sun; 
Striving full hard to catch one golden ray, 

Of glory ere the sands of life be run; 
Or seeking Freedom as she fled undone, 

From some fierce kingly tyrant who would rend 
Her being — none have journeyed east, not one; 

All, all have followed in the western trend, 
And often have I wondered: What would be the 
end. 



112 COXEY'S WARNING. 

II. 

O, Bactria! favored land of flower and dale, 

Land of a thousand fancies fair to see, 
Art thou, indeed, that sweet sequestered vale, 

Which nursed man in his restless infancy? 
When first he heard of heaven's all- wise decree, 

To multiply, e'en as the grains of sand; 
Or as the drops of water in the sea, 

To spread and cover unknown sweeps of land; 
Fair country! speak and tell — dost know a tale 
so grand? 

III. 

Perchance thou art that storied place of old, 
With all thy mysteries hidden from our gaze; 

Naught do we know but of the legends told, 
Of thy time-shielded secrets. O, to raise 

Tradition's curtain, or to clear the haze 
Of myth for one brief moment, and to look 



WESTWARD DRIFT OF CIVILIZATION. 113 

On man as he was in those earlier days; 

When naught he knew of science, art, or book, 
But loitered 'neath the trees or gamboled by the 
brook. 

IV. 

And who is there to tell us of man's birth, 

Or trace him on his journey's fateful quest; 
Mayhap he wandered over all the earth, 

In search of Bactria; till some strange behest 
Prompted his innate feeling of unrest, 

To that sweet quiet of a master's trance; 
And sowed the love of home within his breast; 

Then would he seek his being to enhance, 
And bring out order from a dreamy land of 
chance. 

V. 

f 
But as his number grew and waxed great, 

E'en to outstrip the little shepherd fold, 

8 



114 COXEY'S WARNING. 

And render scarce his parents' first estate, 
Then went he forth another home to mould; 

And some maybe did wander forth for gold, 
Caught by its surface shining pleasantly; 

And there were others not to be controlled 
By law's restraint, who free as air would be; 

So turned them to strange lands to seek their 
destiny. 

VI. 

And ever as they sallied forth to find 

Their scattered dwelling places — as they grew 
Different in habits and in strength of mind, 

Then would a spirit of discordance brew; 
And man against his brother fought and slew, 

Till one would take precedence over all; 
Or else it might be that a chosen few, 

Stronger in mind would make their fellows 
pall, 



WESTWARD DRIFT OF CIVILIZATION. 115 

And by sly arts and tricks would hold their souls 
in thrall. 

VII. 

Thus rose the ancient empires in their might — 
For in their might their thrones' foundations 
lay; 
Full oft they questioned not the wrong or right, 
Till tribes would band a ruthless king to stay; 
Behold a kingdom in a single day! 

Moulded and builded unto one fair thought; 
With license free some weaker power to slay, 
And thro' the blood of men its crown be 
bought, 
Stand on its neighbor's corpse and say: What 
have we wrought! , 

VIII. 

But ever as these kingdoms rose and lessed, 



116 COXEY'S WARNING. 

And builded and destroyed and built again, 
See how they turn unto the boundless west, 

For freedom from the shackle and the chain. 
And when an empire like a bubble vain 

Went up in air and vanished from the earth, 
A stronger people fuse with what remain, 

To found a state far greater in its worth, 
And give the mind of man a more resplendent 
birth. 



IX. 



Trace Freedom fleeing from a prison cell, 
In Egypt or Assyria, where for years 

She spent her life in more than mythic hell, 
Drenching the land with misery's briny tears ; 

Or 'scaping from the Mede with many fears ; 
And does she turn to China's cold embrace, 

Or hope for help from India's shaven seers? 



WESTWARD DRIFT OF CIVILIZATION. 117 

Ah, no! westward she turns her streaming 
face, 
To find for servile man a happier dwelling place. 

X. 

O, country of a hundred little isles ! 

Thou wert the appointed place; here man 
dwelt 
In sweet simplicity, midst Nature's smiles 

A bounteous store, and under skies that melt 
Sweetly with summer beauty — here he felt 

And was subdued by his own greatness. Lo ! 
The picture fades away — the Grecian belt 

Goes to the Roman who in turn meets Woe, 
Which wanders o'er the earth a thousand years 
or so, 

XL 

Ah, yes, the Ages Dark! when right and left 



118 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Some petty prince disputed for his claim; 
When Eome was of her empire all bereft, 

And naught remained of her except a name — 
A mere pretense of power, for all the fame 

Of conquest in the west lay with the Franks — ■ 
Those hardy warriors of the northern plain 

Who stopped the Crescent on the Loire's banks; 
If aught be gained to Charles Martel we owe the 
thanks. 

XII. 

Our modern nations now take shape and life; 

But not in peace are boundaries formed anew, 
'Tis but a record full of woe and strife, 

And blood and rampage and of torture, too ; 
And thro' it all the power of mind still grew, 

And longed for freedom from a durance vile; 
From cringing low before a haughty crew 

Of kingly courtiers, who would ape the style 
Of royal tyrant, be he stuffed with sin and guile. 



WESTWARD DRIFT OF CIVILIZATION. 119 

XIII. 

And so they wandered forth across the wave, 

To find a home where Freedom might assuage 
The wounds of Time; and those with strength to 
brave 

The stormy deep, might yet receive the wage 
Of merit. Even here would kingly rage 

Extend and seek to blind Columbia's arm ; 
Or lifting up its power would try to gage 

Progression's spirit — till from town and farm, 
Our fathers rose and placed the land beyond their 
harm. 

XIV. 

Thus have we shown the unchanged, steady drift, 
Which like an ocean's mighty wave did roll, 

From east to westward; bearing in its lift 
All before it— all of life, from pole to pole 

Midway between, has moved along; the whole 



120 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Has been improved in almost every way; 
And most of all man's being, called his soul, 

Soars to the very top, like some bright fay 
Shining resplendent with a light more fair than 
day. 

XV. 

Is this the end? Can man no higher climb 

Because, perchance, he goes no farther west? 
Ah, no! this is not all; grand, high, sublime, 

Will be man's future — when within his breast, 
A feeling for his fellow-man shall rest — 

A grand religion of Humanity; 
A creed which falters not before Time's test; 

But lifts man nearer to Divinity, 
And points him out his only earthly destiny. 



WRECK OF THE COMMONWEAL NAVY. 121 



THE WRECK OF THE COMMONWEAL 
NAVY. 

O, the Commonweal Army have truly embarked, 
And their campfires are smouldering in River 

Front Park; 
And the men who sat round them are well on 

their way, 
And the city of Denver is happy to-day. 

All the dainty young misses and half-witted 
dudes, 

All the wealthy who lounge in their gilded se- 
cludes, 

All the mine-owning barons and those who would 
fawn, 

Rejoice in their hearts now that Carter has gone. 



122 COXEY'S WARNING. 

He has gone on his way with his work-seeking 

band, 
He has gone in the boats that the newspapers 

planned; 
On the turgid Platte current his fortunes are 

cast, 
And the danger to Denver is over at last. 

Once again you may venture in freedom to come 
From your home without carrying a doubled- 

barreled gun; 
Once again you may romp with your friends on 

the lawn, 
In comparative safety, for Carter has gone. 

They were launching their scows from the River 

Front Park, 
They were jeered by the crowd with advice and 

remark; 



WRECK OF THE COMMONWEAL NAVY. 123 

And the river-god frowned on their efforts to sail, 
For the current ran high and the wind blew a 
gale. 

And the sailors were landsmen who knew not 
the Platte, 

Their boats were square-cornered with bot- 
toms quite flat; 

And the bridges and trees in the turbid swift 
stream, 

Were Demons of Evil to cross-piece and beam. 

And the boats were destroyed on the bridges and 

piles, 
And the wreck strewed the banks of the river for 

miles; 
And the men were thrown out on the sandbars 

and trees, 
To be cramped by the current and chilled by the 

breeze. 



124 COXEY'S WARNING. 

And there lay the wreckage with motto so true, 
Of the sentiments held by the ill-fated crew; 
And there stood the rescued all trembling and 

cold, 
Who had dared raise his voice 'gainst the power 

of gold. 

And there lay the corses which could not arise, 
With their stiff, rigid features and wide-staring 

eyes; 
While some in the river are mouldering away, 
And the city of Denver is happy to-day. 



THE TRAINS ARE SAFE. 125 



THE TRAINS ARE SAFE. 

(Minnie J. Reynolds of Denver.) 

Just drag them on the sodden bank, 
'Tis all the bed they own ; 

And range them in a ghastly rank, 
By the swollen Platte upthrown. 

They've reached their mournful journey's end- 
So near, so near to town — 

But then, they're only Coxey men; 
What matter if they drown? 

They tried their best to get away 

In the shallow, crazy boats. 
Now here, I fancy, they will stay, 

While the lone skiff onward floats. 
To see them thus — poor, unknown waifs — 

It seems a little rough ; 



126 COXEY'S WARNING. 

But then, the railroad trains are safe, 
And that is joy enough. 

They won't walk on the grass again, 

And that's a good thing, too ; 
And Washington escapes the men 

Who there for work would sue. 
In fact, it solved a problem drear — 

This plunge in the river deep — 
But, God! your railroad trains come dear, 

And your human lives come cheap. 



THE GOVERNOR'S TELEGRAM. 127 



THE GOVERNOR'S TELEGRAM. 

During the month of May and the early part 
of June, 1894, a strike was inaugurated by the 
miners of Colorado, for certain privileges which 
they deemed necessary to their welfare, and 
which they charged the millionaire mine owners 
of unjustly depriving them. Believing implicitly 
in the equity of their cause, the strikers were 
very determined not to be beaten. They accord- 
ingly organized their number into a military 
body, elected as commander a man of signal ex- 
ecutive ability, seized and fortified Bull Moun- 
tain, a very precipitous and almost inaccessible 
elevation near Cripple Creek, and prepared to 
repel any invasion of their homes by force of 
arms. 

Sheriff Bowers of El Paso county, who had 



128 COXEY'S WARNING. 

warrants for some of the miners, and who was 
popularly supposed to he working in the interests 
of the mine owners, finding his posse unable to 
cope with the force arrayed against him, con- 
sidered himself authorized to employ all persons 
who wished to serve as deputies. He thus re- 
cruited a force of about twelve hundred deputies. 
The armed strikers on Bull Mountain numbered 
about the same. Between these hired deputies 
and the striking miners a deadly enmity existed,. 
They now stood face to face with the weapons 
of destruction in their hands. 

All efforts at arbitration having proven 
fruitless, as neither side would recede an inch, 
Gov. Waite finally called out the state militia to 
suppress the riot. A railroad disaster detained 
the force for several days, and they did not arrive 
on the scene as early as was expected. In the 
meantime the deputies prepared to move, and a 



THE GOVERNOR'S TELEGRAM. 129 

deadly encounter seemed imminent, in which 

hundreds of lives might be lost. The first great 

struggle between capital and labor was about to 

take place, and the cry on both sides was "blood." 

It was at this crisis that Gov. Waite sent his 

« 
famous telegram to Gen. Brooks, the commander 

of the militia: 

"Push your force between the deputies and 
strikers and prevent a battle. Conciliate the 
miners with promises of protection. Order them 
to surrender and deputies to disperse. Bring 
about an amicable settlement, if possible, with- 
out the loss of a single human life." 

This course, as events afterward proved, 
was the wisest way out of the difficulty, but for 
his avowed sympathy for labor, Gov. Waite was 
severely criticised at the time. The following 
poem is intended to show the true condition of 



130 COXEY'S WARNING. 

affairs, and sustains the governor in his admin- 
istration of justice: 

Ranged round their stalwart leader on the hill, . 

The sturdy miners stood; sworn not to yield 
An inch to hired deputies until, 

Perchance, their forms were carried from the 
field. 
Down in the valley underneath the spur, 

The sheriff's army waited for the sign, 
To charge the works; theirs was not to demur, 

Nor did they even fear the hidden mine. 
Bull Mountain's rocky sides were fortified, 

As were the bomb-scarred forts of sixty-one — 
If you had been by the governor's side, 
What would you have done? 

On one side were the miners — men who fought 
For life and home and a grand principle; 



THE GOVERNOR'S TELEGRAM. 131 

Their spirits to the highest pitch are wrought, 

Irtrer-ched are they almost invincible; 
Keady for arbitration — yet they swore 

Never a Hessian deputy should come 
Within their works without a flow of gore, 

Or hearkening to the mimic bullet's hum. 
Their masters dread had urged a vain pretext, 

And treated claims of theirs with show of fun — 
If you had been at the governor's desk, 
What would you have done? 

In the vale beneath were the men of hire, 

Who grasped the pay that the mine owners 
gave; 

Theirs was a duty I would not admire, 
For theirs was their fellow-men to enslave. 

But well each man knew his place in the line, 
And never a one that dreaded the call — 

They were fighters all of the olden time, 



132 COXEY'S WARNING. 

They were there to kill or be killed, that was 
all. 
There were cowboys and scouts to set a pace, 
Who would face any foe beneath the sun — 
If you had been in the governor's place, 
What would you have done? 

Order the militia to the scene of action, 

Arrest the miners and throw them in jail; 
Take plain sides with the deputy faction, 

Refuse to admit the strikers to bail. 
Their children might starve while you heard their 
trial, 

Decide in favor of owners of mines; 
Conduct the affair in a pompous style, 

And sentence some to the prison's confines. 
Let not humanity enter the case; 

Of charity, love, and mercy have none — 
If you had been in the governor's place, 



THE GOVERNOR'S TELEGRAM. 133 

Is that what you would have done? 

Ah, no ! Let the strikers give up their guns, 

For men have families crying for food; 
'Twould be doubly wrong to harm helpless ones, 

To succor their needs would be truly good. 
Then warriors disperse — let peace again reign 

O'er the troubled regions of Cripple Creek — 
And thankful are we that none have been slain, 

That wrong has not shackled the souls of the 
weak. 
'Tis settled at last with justice to all, 

Without the use of a pistol or gun — 
Without the black shroud — the knell and the 
pall, 

And that's what the governor has done. 



134 COXEY'S WARNING. 



PROPHETIC. 

And they did prophesy in those days many 
things which forsooth did come to pass. 
All Europe stands in arms and waits for war. 
Behold, it comes! Afar I hear the roll 
Of warlike drum, which calls man forth to slay 
His fellow-man, I see the martial clans 
Go forth to do their master's dread command. 
And lo ! the awful charge, the cannon's roar, 
The musket's rattle and the broadsword's 

sweep, 
And life blood gushing out upon the turf, 
And death dew forming on the brow of him, 
Who fought and fell, and then the savage cheer 
Of the victorious foe. Behold! I see 
German and Frenchman locked in death's em- 
brace; 



PROPHETIC. 135 



While struggling o'er their forms and striving 

hard, 
Each o'er the other to obtain a hold, 
A Cossack and a Britain. 

Is not this 
The end towards which all things now tend? And 

when 
The smoke of battle clears away, and bright 
And glorious shines the sun, then will the states 
Of Europe rise once more, and cast aside 
Their worthless list of kings and rule themselves; 
But changed will be their boundaries — then no 

more 
Will German claim a section or a tract, 
Nor Eussian draw a line which marks his claim 
Against his brother Britain — all will dwell 
In love of one another, and diffused 
Will be the nations. 



136 COXEY'S WARNING. 

Marvel not that this 
Should be — 'tis written in the past full oft, 
And will occur again — 'tis one more step 
In the uplifting of mankind, and marks 
A world's progression. 

And thou, Columbia, what hast thou in store 

In future times? A leader thou hast been, 

And since no farther west can go the drift 

Of empire, still a leader thou must be; 

And when the states of Europe reach the place, 

Which thou hast now attained — lo and behold! 

Thyself passed on to greater heights of fame. , 

The brotherhood of man is yet afar, 

But time will bring it near and may we hope, 

That -thou wilt aid its coming — then stand forth 

And be arraigned before the bar of justice. 

Thou hast a sound foundation, country fair, 
And yet thy bulwarks cannot always stand 



PROPHETIC. 137 

Against the mighty breaks of time. Thy fall 
Must some time come; and even now thy fanlts 
And errors rise about thee like a mist 
About a ship — soon hidden thou wilt be 
In gross injustice's arms. Great country, thou 
Must fall; but thou shalt rise again, more famed 
Than thou art now. Perchance thou'rt destined 

then 
To fall again, and then again to rise 
Like Phoenix from thine ashes; and each fall 
But serving to enlarge thy field of fame, 
Till that great day when man shall be to man 
A brother true. 

Then Caste shall be unknown, 
And white-robed Peace shall waft her snowy 

wing 
O'er human habitations — then no more 
Will one man gather wealth unto himself, 



138 COXEY'S WARNING. 

And stint his neighbor — all in all shall share 
Alike of Nature's bounteous stores, and none 
May prosper from his fellow-creature's ruin. 



FINALE. 139 



FINALE. 



To the Toiling Masses. 



Cease, then, to weep and wail and wring your 
hands, 
While every heart-beat tighter draws the 
chain — 
Eead, men, and think — then break the servile 
bands 
Of party forging and be free again. 
Train your God-given reason and reflect — 

Be not base hirelings for the kings of spoil 
To nse to gain more power, then to reject — 

What care they for the humble sons of toil! 
O, ye gods! What manner of men are we, 
Thus to be robbed before our very eyes? 
Is this the boasted haven of the free, 



i£±Ll^L 



140 COXEY'S WARNING. 



Where every life is but a human prize? 
Rouse up, ye powers! Adjust such laws of 
stealth, 
And muzzle fast the hounds of gain and wealth. 



